Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-12-10
4 BLAST FROM Blaine.
Magnetic Statesman Attacks the
Presidents Message.
III +, AstGnished That He Advocates
FREQ Trade
nd Recommends the Retention Of In.
ternal Revenue.
, Touching Picture Of Tobacco Con.
sumers' Grievances.
yIrtuous Talk About Whisky to Catch
the Temperance Folks.

yvrtuous Talk About Whisky to Catch
the Temperance Folks.
NEW YORK, December Tho Tribune
tomorrow will contain . long interview
9TH Hon. James G. Blaine on President
Ceveland's message. He says: II have
been reading an abstract OF the Presidents
message, and have been especially inter-
.sted in the comments of tho London pa
psrs. Those papers all assume to declare
the message q free trade manifesto, and
evidently anticipate an enlarged market
for English fabrics in the United States as
consequence OF the Presidents recon-.
uepd~ations. Perhaps that fact stamped
the character Of the message more clearly
than any words OF mine cam"
You do mean actual free trade withou u
duty7" querIed the reporter,
NO." replied Mr.. Blaine, 'nor do the
London papers mean that. They simply
mean that the President has recommended
what in the United States is known as a
revenue tariff, rejecting the protective feat
ure hs an object, and not even permitting
protection to result freely as an incident
70 revenue duties"
"Idon't know that I quite comprehend
that last point" said the reporter.
Il mean" said Mr.. Blaine, that for the
first time in the history OF the United
States a President recommends retaining
the tax in order that the tariff NAV
he forced down, ven below q fair revenue
standard. He recommends that the tax on
tpbacco be retained, and thus that MANY
millions annually shall be levied on q do.
nestle product which would far better
o from a tariff on foreign fabrics"
Then do you mean to imply hat you
would favor the repeal OF tho tobacco
taxi"
Certainly. I mean just that" said Mr..
Blaine. Il should urge That it be done at
once, even before the Chr stmas holidays.
Il would in tho first place bring great relief
to the growers OF tobacco all over tho
country and would moreover materially
loosen the price OF the article to consumers.
Tobacco to millions OF men is q necessity.
The President calls it o luxury. bnt it is q
luxury in no other sense than tea md
c,ftee are Injuries. It is well to remember
that the luxury OF yesterday becomes the
necessity of to-day. Watch q number Of
men at work on a farm, in q coal mine, along
a railroad, in iron foundries or in
any calling. and you will find % to 100
chewing, while they work. After each meal
the same proportion seek the solace OF q
pipe or cigar. These men not only pay
millions OF tobacco tax. but pay an en-. |
HANGED price which the tax enables the
manufacturer and retailers to impose. |
The only excuse for such q tax is tho
actual necessity under which the Govern
ment found itself during the war and the
years immediately following. To retain
the tax now in order to destroy protection
which would incidentally flow from raising
the ca me amount OF money on foreign i'm.
ports, is certainly a most extraordinary
policy for our Government"
swell. then, Mr.. Blaine, would You adj
wise the repeal OF the whisky taxi"
mo. l would not. Other considerations
than those OF financial administration are
to be taken into account with regard to
whisky. There ia a moral side to it. To
cheaper the price OF whisky is to increase
the consumption enormously. There
would be no sense in urging q reform
wrought by high license in many states il
the national government neutralizes the
effect by making whisky within the reach
Of every ore at twenty cents a gallon. 1t
would destroy high license at once in all
the States. Whisky has done q vast deal
charm in the United States. I would try
to make it do some good. would use
the tax to fortify our citisens
on the seaboard. In view
Of the powerful letter addressed to the
Democratic party on the subject OF fortif-
cations by tho late Samuel j. Tilden in
1885. am amazed hat 10 attention has
party. Never before in the history OF the
world has any government allowed the
reat CITIES Il the seabUard to remain de.
ienceless."
But" said the reporter, "you don't
think we are to have war in any direc'
tion?"
Certainly not, but we should change
remote chance into an absolute impossi-
bility."
But would not our iortifying now posi-
bly, look as il We expected war?"
why should it any more than tortihca,
ton BY our grandfathers when they guarded
themselves against successful attacks Irom
the ornaments OF that day. We don't
necessarily expect y burglar because We
lock our doors at night"
"Rut after Notifications are constructed,
would you still maintain the tax on
whiskey?"
yves, 30 long as there is whisky to tax
would tax it, and when the national
Government should have no uss Tor
the money l would divide the tax
among the Federal Union with the specific
object of tightening the tax on real
estate. Il, ultimately, relief could be given
in that direction it would, in my judgment,
be g wise and beneficent policy. Some
honest, misguided friends OF temperance
have VI ged that the Government should
not use money deri yed from a tax on
whisky. My reply is that a tax on whisky
by the Federal Government and conse'
auent enhancement OF price, has been a
powerful agent in temperance reform by
putting it beyond the reach OF 80 many;
The amount OF whisky coh a'dav IL aa not not
more than 40 per cent. of that consumed
thirty years ago. In my opinion the
whisky tax should be SO modified as 10
permit those who use pure alcohol IN the
arts or in mechanical pursuits to have u
free. In ell snch cases the tax could be
omitted without danger OF fraud just as
now the tax on spirits exported Is re-
initial